6th Day Itachi and Sasuke: Team Effort
by cho-chan09
Summary: The 6th day of 12 'cests of Christmas! A three chap story. Itachi and Sasuke survive their clan's massacre and grow up to become amazing ANBU members. But will a particularly difficult mission bring about old memories and/or new feelings?


_**6**__**th**__** Day: Itachi and Sasuke Christmas Special**_

_**Team Effort**_

*A/N Um, yea! So, here's day 6 of my 12 'cests of Christmas special! I dedicate this to the weirdos who just love cliffhangers and gradual affection-building through trial and friends! Yea, that sounds kinda weird but ya'll will understand. This will be cut into three chapters to be distributed today, tomorrow and Monday along with the other respective stories for those days. Hope you all enjoy this bit! ^_^*

It had been about eight years since Fugaku destroyed the Uchiha clan and committed suicide, leaving only his two sons alive, which neither had been in the village during the slaughter. Itachi and Sasuke still lived in the Uchiha District of Konoha. No one really bothered them, but the younger girls who didn't really know or remember the event thought they were amazing and mysterious and could often be found lurking near the taboo location. The brothers kept to themselves mostly. Even so, they were both part of ANBU, the special operations group directly under the leader of Konoha. Both Sasuke and Itachi were the leaders of their own squads. Despite their past, both were kind to their subordinates and fellow leaders.

At 16, Sasuke was the youngest member to be a team leader since Itachi, who was 22 and had been a part of ANBU for eight years. In fact, he was on his first mission the night of the massacre. Itachi had come home near dawn to find blood and bodies everywhere. He'd quickly made his way to his house. Inside, he found his mother's mangled body in the living room and his father hanging from a beam on the ceiling. The sight nearly made him vomit. Sasuke had crawled out from a hidden compartment in the wall. Ever since, the two of them had been each other's source of safety and comfort. Their reason for joining ANBU was to help see to that no one else had to have something like what they went through happen them.

Throughout the years, because of their closeness with each other, they had developed protective feelings toward each other. However, Sasuke had found that he was also physically and romantically attracted to his brother. He didn't know if it was just that he was a hormonal teenager and his brother was the closest person to him, or if he had just truly fallen for the older Uchiha. He figured that either was possible. Itachi really was a gorgeous man. Creamy skin, long silky black hair and soft coal colored eyes would have anyone swoon. And Sasuke was not exception.

"I'm sending the two of you on a joint mission with both of your squads. This is a big case: an S-Rank of course. The daimyo of the Land of Sakura Blossoms was murdered by a renegade band of assassins. This is the third one they've killed and no one knows their true goal or purpose. I need you to find all twelve members of this assassin group and bring them back here, dead or alive."

Tsunade gazed at the two masked Uchihas standing in her office after she finished giving her instructions. The two nodded with an "Understood ma'am!" and bowed before exiting the room.

Sasuke turned to his brother. "I think this is going to be our first joint mission together Nii-san." The older Uchiha nodded and replied, "I believe you're right. This should be an interesting mission." Sasuke agreed. Even though they each had a squad consisting of themselves and three other people, which caused them to be outmatched to their new enemy, they consisted of the best ANBU members.

Over the years, there was only one person besides his brother that Sasuke could consider close to him. His best friend Naruto Uzumaki. This particular hyperactive blond had shared a similar childhood as himself and even though they were bitter rivals in the Academy, later in life they became inseparable friends. Now, Sasuke was Naruto's squad leader and the blond couldn't be happier. They'd become like brothers in all but blood and Itachi had also accepted the Uzumaki into the family as a sort of adopted brother. So it would be great to cooperate with him during this mission.

The other two members of Sasuke's team consisted of Sakura Haruno, an extremely strong and intelligent med-nin who Sasuke considered a valuable comrade, and Kiba Inuyama, a tracker ninja with a ninja hound by the name of Akamaru that was practically attached to his hip, despite the beast's massive size.

Itachi's team included a shadow-using ninja named Shikamaru Nara who also had an IQ of over 200, Ino Yamanaka, a med-nin who was also Sakura's main rival, and Hinata Hyuuga, a girl with a bloodline trait called the Byakuugan. With these two teams, the mission should go rather smoothly. At least, that was what Tsunade hoped.

Itachi and Sasuke met with their squads at the front gate the following morning. Each individual wore their unique ANBU mask along with their standard uniforms. They greeted each other with nods of acknowledgement before departing. They went past the guards at the gate and into the forest beyond. Through the small communication radios in their masks, Sasuke explained their mission to everyone again. When he was finished he told them what they'd be doing.

"According to information provided by the Hokage, these assassins work in pairs normally and, as I have said before, are targeting daimyos for an unknown reason. We will split up in pairs from here and collect intel in various towns in the surrounding regions. If the enemy is spotted, keep tabs on them. If you engage them in combat, aim to kill only if necessary. We want to stop these guys, but it wouldn't hurt to know why they did it. Alright, as for teams, Naruto is with me, Itachi will be with Kiba, Ino with Shikamaru, and Hinata with Sakura. Be careful everyone. Move out!"

Each pair then went in their own direction to do their investigations. Naruto smiled at his friend, even though it couldn't be seen from beneath his mask. It had whiskers that resembled the ones on his cheeks. The blond adjusted the frequency on his radio so that only Sasuke would be able to get his signal. "So, Sasuke, any progress with your brother?" Naruto was the only person Sasuke had told about his thoughts on Itachi. Naruto had blatantly told the younger Uchiha that he was in love with his older brother. At the time, Naruto had gotten jealous. It was rather cute how the twelve year old had pouted when he discovered Itachi held a more special place in Sasuke's heart than hee did, but he had gotten over it, or at least didn't let on that it bothered him anymore. So now he always asked Sasuke if he'd told his brother his feelings whenever he got the chance.

Sasuke sighed in frustration as he put his frequency to Naruto's and replied, "Not at all. I just don't want things to change. Well, I do, but just not in a bad way. What if he finds it strange or disgusting and then he shuns me? I really don't want to risk the relationship I currently have with my brother because of something like that."

"Not even if the risk may yield a relationship much greater?" His friend had a point but Sasuke still had his doubts. Despite that he shook his head and lapsed into silence as he thought about it. Well, Itachi hadn't shown any interest in any of their fangirls, but that could just be because they could be very creepy and sometimes scary. Still, he didn't even know his brother's preferences. This was going to be a difficult task. He hoped that with Naruto's help, he'd be able to at least confess to his brother, even if it meant rejection. He at least needed to know. That was the main point.

The two ANBU members arrived in the capital of the Land of Sakura Blossoms some time after nightfall. The streets were quiet but a few lights shone in windows and some shops still remained open, so it wasn't too late. They made their way to the palace in order to find out more information from the residents about the late daimyo's demise. At the gate, they identified themselves to the guards and headed inside. There they gained an audience to the widow of the daimyo. She was a pretty woman but her eyes were sad, with good reason.

"You are ninja from Konoha? I am glad that your Hokage received my message. I will tell you everything that I can remember. First, I must ask if you've heard of the assassin group known as Akatsuki."

*There you go cliffhanger freaks! I myself can't stand them but there are those who just love the suspense. So, the second chapter will be out tomorrow along with day 7. Wow. Can't believe we're about half-way through. My imagination is glad. Poor dear has been working hard! Totally not used to that, but I gotta change my lazy habits someday. so, review and I'll see ya'll tomorrow for day 7! ^_^*


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